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Students get hands-on experience while rebuilding neighborhoods

Richard Yencer initiated the school's partnership with Habitat for Humanity Buffalo in 1990 to build students' hands-on skills while giving back to the community. The 2013 build was the last for Yencer, who recently retired after over 30 years of service to the school. Photo: Courtesy of the School of Architecture and Planning

By RACHEL TEAMAN

“They see that a line on paper is different on a piece of wood. They learn the best way to connect the components of a building. These questions can be difficult to answer in the classroom, but they’re vital to an architect.”

Richard Yencer, director, Materials and Methods Shop

School of Architecture and Planning

Over the past two decades, hundreds of students participating in
the School of Architecture and Planning’s Habitat for
Humanity program have raised 56 homes across Buffalo, gaining
hands-on experience in building and construction, and rebuilding
entire neighborhoods along the way.

This point of reflection is particularly significant for the
program’s founder, Richard Yencer, who recently retired as
instructional support technician for the school and director of its
Materials and Methods Shop. This past spring, he oversaw his last
build with the program, leading a crew of 40 students in completing
three new homes on Buffalo’s East Side for families in
need.

Yencer initiated the partnership with Habitat for Humanity
Buffalo in 1990 to give students practical experience and put their
skills to work for the community. While the program started small,
with about 10 or so students signing up in the first few years,
today it’s one of the school’s most sought-after
courses. Waiting lists are common, and the program regularly draws
teams of 40 to 50 students to help build two to three new homes and
rehab several others every year.

The course is a core part of the school’s learn-by-doing
approach, Yencer says. “They see that a line on paper is
different on a piece of wood. They learn the best way to connect
the components of a building. These questions can be difficult to
answer in the classroom, but they’re vital to an
architect.”

The three-credit practicum is open to graduate and undergraduate
students of all disciplines, though most participants are from the
architecture and planning programs. Students meet several times
during the spring semester to study site plans and construction
documents, learn how to frame a building and receive training in
the proper use of construction tools, from power saws to
scaffolding. Then they put in three full weeks onsite, beginning in
mid-May.

“We do as much as we can in three weeks, and usually get
the side walls up, lay the roof, and fit windows and doors.
Sometimes we even complete the siding,” Yencer says, adding
that the students work hand-in-hand with other Habitat for Humanity
volunteers, from teachers to carpenters. By late fall, the houses
are typically ready for families to move in.

The students who put in the eight-hour days of hard, physical
labor say the experience is invaluable.

“I now understand the process of design-to-construction
much better. For instance, I didn’t realize that the
cabinetry needs to be built into the framework of the house. This
is stuff you never see or draw in studio,” says Mathew
Ryberg, who worked on this year’s new build at 107 Fox
St.

Much of these experiences are catalogued in personal journals
the students maintain as part of the course. “By writing down
these experiences, the students will have a record of it for the
future,” says Yencer.

Brijhette Farmer says she is most interested in the community
service side of the program. “It’s a chance to give
back. We’re increasing the quality of life for the family
that will live here, and for the people who live in these
neighborhoods.”

Aside from providing new homes to families in need — many
of them refugees — UB’s contribution to the Habitat for
Humanity program extends far beyond the walls of the houses that
have been built.

The 56 houses sit on a handful of blocks — 48 across five
blocks on the city’s East Side, four on Ferguson Avenue on
the West Side and four in nearby Lackawanna. A tour of these areas
reveals swaths of well-kept homes where there were once vacant lots
or dilapidated structures.

“These are not one-offs. We’re improving
neighborhoods,” Yencer says.

The improvements are more than physical, he adds. In the
program’s first years, it wasn’t uncommon for supplies
or tools to go missing overnight. Today, neighbors bring doughnuts
and lunch for the crews, and are on the watch for suspicious
activity at night.

The school formed its partnership with Habitat for Humanity
Buffalo just as the non-profit organization was expanding into new
builds. Until then, its work was limited to rehabs. Today, the
School of Architecture and Planning typically is involved with
most, if not all, of Habitat for Humanity’s new builds in the
Buffalo area.

“To have the UB students participate has really boosted
our capacity. Their energy is fantastic,” says Ron Talboys,
who serves as president of Habitat for Humanity Buffalo and formed
the partnership with the school 23 years ago. “Our volunteers
really enjoy working with the students and often share their tricks
in building and construction.”

Talboys says the school’s engagement also has improved
Habitat for Humanity’s building model. Thanks to input from
Yencer and the Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental
Access, houses are now built closer to the ground, with fewer
stairs, to improve accessibility. An accessibility ramp designed by
the school also can be added if needed. Green building practices
have been integrated into the construction process, with most new
builds qualifying for green certification.

Dean Robert Shibley says the program has been defined by its
marriage of craft and community service, all under Yencer’s
leadership. “Through Dick’s work, our students come to
understand the craft of construction and its importance in home and
neighborhood building,” Shibley says. “Over the years,
the Habitat for Humanity program has inspired hundreds of our
students who have gone on to inspire thousands more with their work
in the world.”

Looking back over 23 years, Yencer says his greatest
satisfaction is the lasting impact the program has had on his
students.

For instance, one of his former students contacted him 10 years
after graduation to let him know he made a special stop in Buffalo
just to show his family the house he helped build. Another called
Yencer for advice, as he was interested in setting up a similar
program at another university.

Courtney Creenan, MArch/MUP ’12, now a project coordinator
with Flynn Battaglia Architects in Buffalo, says the
program’s influence has followed her into the world of
practice. “Since entering the professional realm, my
experience with Habitat for Humanity has reinforced for me the need
for architects to participate in shaping and improving their
communities, and to assist in leading those efforts.”

This is what it’s all about, says Yencer. “The
program was designed not only to give students practical
experience, but to teach them how to get involved and give back to
their communities. This says to me that we’ve reached that
goal.”

Going forward, the Habitat for Humanity program will continue
under the leadership of Peter Russell, the new director of the
Materials and Methods Shop.